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Contract Manufacturing Manager

About Schweid & Sons 

Schweid & Sons is a family-owned and operated premium ground beef company with a proud heritage spanning four generations. We supply top-quality beef to Retail, Foodservice, and National Account customers across the U.S. and are committed to quality, customer service, and innovation in protein manufacturing. 

About the Role  

The Contract Manufacturing Manager leads operational performance across external manufacturing partners. The role owns day-to-day and strategic execution across quality, food safety, service, inventory, production, material planning, cost control, cost reduction, vendor relations, commercialization, and continuous improvement. This leader serves as the primary liaison between contract manufacturers and internal functions including Operations, Procurement, Quality, Food Science/ Innovation, Engineering, Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Supply Chain/Logistics.  

Key Responsibilities  

Contract Manufacturing Operations & Partner Management  

• Manage projects, business processes, and operating relationships associated with contract manufacturing operations.  
• Identify, evaluate, onboard, and develop contract manufacturers based on business requirements for capacity, quality, food safety, service, cost, and strategic fit.  
• Develop and maintain strong business relationships with contract manufacturers and serve as the day-to-day point of contact for operational priorities, escalation, and performance management.  
• Plan, implement, and maintain standards and controls to enable successful manufacturing operations and distribution at external manufacturing sites.  

Quality, Food Safety, Compliance & Controls  

• Develop and maintain guidelines, operating rules, and expectations for contract manufacturers aligned with company quality standards, food safety standards, regulatory requirements, and customer expectations.  
• Ensure proper operational and financial controls are in place at contract manufacturing facilities.  
• Coordinate rapid response to urgent business issues, including recalls, product holds, inventory discrepancies, facility disruptions, supplier issues, excess losses, and claims resolution.  

Performance Management, KPIs & Continuous Improvement  

• Establish, track, and report KPIs for contract manufacturers, including quality, food safety, service, cost, inventory, production, and financial performance.  
• Conduct regular operational improvement reviews with contract manufacturers to improve production efficiency, reduce cost, improve customer service, and strengthen sustainability of performance.  
• Analyze internal manufacturing best practices and implement relevant standards, tools, and processes at strategic contract manufacturers.  

• Lead operational savings initiatives at contract manufacturing sites and validate savings from concept through implementation.  
• Use structured problem solving, root cause analysis, and loss identification to remediate performance issues and prevent recurrence.  

Commercialization, Capacity & Project Management  

• Lead new product introduction, seasonal promotion, special pack, re-pack, facility rationalization, and other manufacturing projects from commercialization, qualification through verification (CQV).  
• Ensure specifications and process parameters are established prior to production and achieved during CQV steps.  
• Ensure appropriate technical representation from Quality, R&D, Procurement, Engineering, and other functions during project phases.  
• Provide regular capacity analysis to ensure adequate manufacturing capacity is available to meet customer demand and support current and future business strategies.  

Financial, Contracting & Commercial Support  

• Partner with Procurement and Finance to support contract negotiations, contract administration, manufacturing strategy, make-versus-buy analysis, and capacity strategy.  
• Develop or contribute to financial models that support equitable contract terms, cost control, cost reduction, working capital management, and business-case decisions.  
• Assist with analysis of repatriation / expatriation opportunities and external manufacturing network optimization.  

Cross-Functional Leadership & Communication  

• Coordinate priorities and resources across Marketing, Sales, R&D, Quality, Procurement, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, Logistics, Product Supply, and Operations.  
• Lead cross-functional teams without direct authority, influencing internal and external stakeholders to achieve business results.  
• Communicate risks, opportunities, performance trends, emerging technology, and productivity strategies to leadership.  

Capital, Assets & Technical Support  

• Engage business partners and establish communication flow across functional groups for short- and long-term capital strategy at contract manufacturers.  
• Maintain company-owned assets located at external manufacturing sites, where applicable.  
• Provide technical and engineering support to contract manufacturers as needed.  

Minimum Qualifications  

• Bachelor’s degree required; Engineering, Food Science, Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business, or related field preferred.  
• 5+ years (7+ preferred) of relevant experience in food manufacturing, plant operations, engineering, supply chain, distribution, procurement, quality, or contract manufacturing required.   
• Strong project management skills with demonstrated ability to manage multiple priorities, programs, launches, and issue-resolution efforts.  
• Working knowledge of food manufacturing operations, quality systems, food safety, regulatory requirements, and manufacturing procedures.  
• Strong analytical, financial, problem-solving, and root cause analysis skills, including ability to interpret operational, technical, and financial information.  
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation, negotiation, influencing, and conflict-resolution skills across multiple levels of internal and external organizations.  
• Ability to work effectively in manufacturing environments and travel to contract manufacturing locations as required.  

Preferred Qualifications  

• 7+ years of related food manufacturing experience and multiyear plant line / plant operations experience.  
• Prior experience as an Operations / Plant Manager, Contract Manufacturing Manager, TPM / continuous improvement leader, or leader responsible for 5+ co-man facilities.  
• Experience negotiating or supporting contract manufacturing agreements and supplier relationship management.  
• Experience with TPM, CPS, Lean, structured problem solving, zero-based loss analysis, sanitation, EH&S / sustainability, logistics network management, and supply management.  
• Strong business acumen, financial modeling capability, contract analysis, and ability to read and interpret financial reports.  
• Advanced Microsoft Office skills, especially Excel and PowerPoint; ability to create executive-ready analyses and reports.  

Core Competencies  

• Technical excellence in food safety, quality, sanitation, engineering, EH&S / sustainability, logistics, procurement, and supplier relations.  
• Continuous improvement mindset with loss identification, root cause resolution, problem remediation, and sustainable performance management.